By any estimation, 1966 was a pivotal year in rock. On one side of the Atlantic: Pet Sounds, Blonde on Blonde, Sounds of Silence. On the other: Revolver, Fresh Cream, Aftermath. Those albums merely represent the tip of the iceberg, however. 1966 was a year in which psychedelia emerged from the fringes and onto the charts via such artists as The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and yes, The Beatles with "Tomorrow Never Knows." The underground scene continued to grow and increasingly attract the attention of major labels. Earlier this year, Cherry Red's Grapefruit label released A Slight Disturbance in My Mind, a survey of The British Proto-Psychedelic Sounds of 1966. Like many of the label's previous sets, it's balanced between the day's biggest artists, cult favorites, and obscurities; all offer a taste of the burgeoning psych sound.

Of the marquee acts featured - though some hadn't yet achieved that status - listeners will hear The Yardbirds ("Shapes of Things," "Stroll On"), The Hollies ("Oriental Sadness," "Clown"), The Bee Gees (their Australian releases "Play Down" and "I Am the World"), David Bowie ("I Dig Everything," overseen by Tony Hatch), The Pretty Things (their rendition of Ray Davies' "A House in the Country," a stripped-down mix of "My Time"), the pre-Tyrannosaurus Rex Marc Bolan (a demo of "Hippy Gumbo"), Rod Stewart ("I Just Got Some"), The Animals ("Outcast"), The Moody Blues ("We're Broken"), The Kinks ("Fancy"), Manfred Mann ("You're My Girl"), The Tremeloes ("What a State I'm In"), Al Stewart ("Turn Into Earth"), The Searchers (their take on The Hollies' then-unreleased "Have You Ever Loved Somebody"), The Zombies ("Indication"), and The Move ("Disturbance"). Many of these bands were essentially pop artists feeling their way through a period in which anything was possible. Folk, blues, soul, jazz, classical, Eastern, and other influences can be heard in these envelope-pushing tracks which might not be their most popular but are among their most fascinating and diverse.

The lesser-known artists here are no less interesting. The Creation experienced a resurgence in 2017 thanks to anthologies from Numero Group (U.K.) and Edsel (U.K.); the liner notes here reveal that their "Painter Man" was the first U.K. single to be promoted as psychedelic. It still qualifies. The Koobas didn't scale the heights of their mates in Brian Epstein's client stable, but "Sweet Music" (a cover of a U.S. single by Random House scion Christopher Cerf) showcases their heavy-mod sound. The Majority (previously anthologized by Cherry Red in 2009) is heard on the harmony-pop nugget "Simplified," with its overtones of Brian Wilson's "Sloop John B" arrangement. The Downliners Sect's hard 'n' heavy slice of garage rock, "Why Don't You Smile Now," is most notable for its writers: then-Pickwick staff writer Lou Reed and his friend John Cale in their first collaboration. Single-named Coventry teen Beverley had an all-star team - Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Andy White - for her psych spin on Randy Newman's biting "Happy New Year."

A number of familiar songs are presented in less familiar versions. The Action (subjects of a recent Grapefruit box set) offers up a mod version of The Marvelettes' "I'll Keep Holding On," reflecting the U.K.'s passion for all things Motown; The Tomcats (a U.K. group then recording in Spain) deliver a faithful take on The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." Reflecting the diversity on this set, two Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil tunes penned for Paul Revere and The Raiders also make the cut. The Canadian group The 5 A.M. Event relocated to England where they recorded "Hungry," while Belfast's The Wheels made a splash in Blackpool with singles like "Kicks." Both of these renditions adhere fairly close to the Raiders' originals, though The 5 A.M. Event failed to nail the notes on the soaring chorus of "Hungry." Another garage classic introduced by The Raiders, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart's "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone," was slowed down by London's The Flies.

There are the requisite Beatles covers, too, such as The Mirage's fine "Tomorrow Never Knows" and The Score's snarling, "heavy," and altogether unlikely reworking of "Please Please Me." Episode Six, featuring Roger Glover and Deep Purple, gave a rock treatment to Burt Bacharach and Hal David's pulsating "My Little Red Book," but were beaten to the punch by Love's even more powerful take. The Fingers, known at the time for (alas, untrue) stories of outrageous onstage antics, take things down a notch with a soft, pretty reading of The Kinks' "I Go to Sleep." Then there's The Ivy League's "My World Fell Down." The spellbinding John Carter/Geoff Stephens was later given an even dreamier and more mind-blowing production in the U.S. by Sagittarius. (Cover aficionados should note that The Spectres' "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is not the Donovan tune but rather an original co-written by the band's bassist Alan Lancaster.)

A number of previously unreleased tracks make this set even more enticing for cratediggers. Among these are an alternative mix of Mick Softley with The Summer Suns' "Am I the Red One." Despite the name of The Summer Suns, this isn't sunshine pop but rather a folk-rock freakout. The Outrage gave a mod spin to The Everly Brothers' "Man with Money." The 1965 B-side of their "Love Is Strange" attracted a great deal of popularity in the U.K. at the time, also seeing covers from The Who, The Eyes, and A Wild Uncertainty. Two Kim Fowley productions also make their premiere here, including a previously unreleased complete version of The 'N Betweens' cover of Otis Redding's "Security" and Outrage's "A Different Kind of Love Song."

A Slight Disturbance in My Mind is housed in a clamshell case with each disc in its own paper sleeve with the track listing, discographical annotation, and credits on the back cover. A squarebound 52-page booklet fills in even more detail, with comprehensive track-by-track notes provided by compiler David Wells. Simon Murphy has remastered; sound is strong throughout, though a handful of rarities have clearly been derived from inferior - if almost certainly the best available - sources. This anthology is a worthy new entry in Grapefruit's series that has also encompassed other themed sets such as Strangers in the Room (folk rock, 1967-1973), Across the Great Divide (the U.K. version of American country, 1968-1974), and New Moon's in the Sky (progressive pop, 1970). It warrants a place alongside those on any '60s collector's shelf.

Various Artists, A Slight Disturbance in My Mind: The British Proto-Psychedelic Sounds of 1966 (Cherry Red/Grapefruit CRSEGBOX066, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. MAKING TIME - The Creation
2. SHAPES OF THINGS - The Yardbirds
3. I'LL KEEP HOLDING ON - The Action
4. MUD IN YOUR EYE - Fleur-De-Lys
5. SWEET MUSIC - The Koobas
6. ORIENTAL SADNESS - The Hollies
7. PLAY DOWN - The Bee Gees
8. AM I THE RED ONE (ALTERNATIVE MIX) - Mick Softley with The Summer Suns (*)
9. I UNSEEN - The Misunderstood
10. SECURITY (EXTENDED VERSION) - The 'N Betweens (*)
11. I DIG EVERYTHING - David Bowie
12. SHE'S A GIRL - The Attraction
13. A HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY - The Pretty Things
14. DADDY LONG LEGS (BRASS-FREE VERSION) - Lindsay Muir's Untamed
15. MAN WITH MONEY - Outrage (*)
16. THE QUIET EXPLOSION - The Ugly's
17. THIRTEEN WOMEN - The Renegades
18. I TAKE IT THAT WE'RE THROUGH - The Riot Squad
19. MAJOR CATASTROPHE - Katch 22
20. HIPPY GUMBO (DEMO VERSION) - Marc Bolan
21. I WILL HAVE YOU - Just Five
22. TOMORROW NIGHT - The Times
23. BLOW-UP - The In Crowd
24. SIMPLIFIED - The Majority
25. BACK SEAT DRIVER - The Ministry Of Sound
26. BABY, YOU'VE GOT IT - The Truth
27. I JUST GOT SOME - Rod Stewart
28. ANSWERS PLEASE - The Luvin' Kind

CD 2

1. MY FRIEND JACK (DEMO VERSION) - The Smoke
2. PLEASE PLEASE ME - The Score
3. PAINTER MAN (2017 STEREO MIX) - The Creation
4. WHY DON'T YOU SMILE NOW - Downliners Sect
5. YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE LOVE BABE (DEMO VERSION) - Graham Bond Organisation
6. OUTCAST - The Animals
7. WE'RE BROKEN - The Moody Blues
8. I'VE LAID SOME DOWN IN MY TIME - Tony Colton
9. WELL...ALL RIGHT - The People
10. SHAPES IN MY MIND (U.S. 45 VERSION) - Keith Relf
11. MY TIME (BRASS-FREE VERSION) - The Pretty Things
12. FANCY - The Kinks
13. YOU'RE MY GIRL - Manfred Mann
14. WHAT A STATE I'M IN - The Tremeloes
15. TURN INTO EARTH - Al Stewart
16. THE MORNING AFTER - The Mindbenders
17. WALKIN' WALKIN' WALKIN' - The Favourite Sons
18. HAVE YOU EVER LOVED SOMEBODY - The Searchers
19. HUNGRY - The 5 A.M. Event
20. MOLLY ANDERSON'S COOKERY BOOK - The Artwoods
21. TAX MAN - Loose Ends
22. THE RUIN - Deep Feeling
23. KICKS - The Wheels
24. YOU'RE MY GIRL - The Kingpins
25. PAINT IT BLACK - The Tomcats
26. SAGITTARIUS - The Cortinas
27. WRONG WAY - The Brood
28. HOLIDAYMAKER - The Key

CD 3

1. THE LOVE I THOUGHT I'D FOUND - John's Children
2. SAVE MY SOUL - The Wimple Winch
3. STROLL ON - The Yardbirds
4. GLENDORA - Downliners Sect
5. I'M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE (DEMO VERSION) - The Flies
6. IT'S A CRIME - The Kirkbys
7. LET THE LIVE LIVE - The Sorrows
8. I GO TO SLEEP - The Fingers
9. DON'T TELL ME - Arthur Brown
10. HAPPY NEW YEAR - Beverley
11. I AM THE WORLD - The Bee Gees
12. CLOWN - The Hollies
13. INDICATION - The Zombies
14. LITTLE ROSY - The Rocking Vickers
15. WHAT DOES SHE DO - Sounds Around
16. MY LITTLE RED BOOK - Episode Six
17. NO MORE YOU AND ME - The Tornados '66
18. GIRL CHILD, I AM AN EVIL WITCHMAN - The 'N Betweens
19. HURDY GURDY MAN - The Spectres
20. SUMMER LEAVES ME WITH A SIGH - Tuesday's Children
21. ADVERTISING MAN - The Reaction
22. MY WORLD FELL DOWN - The Ivy League
23. HEY, YOU LOLITA - The Silence
24. I SUPPOSE - The Secrets
25. DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE SONG - Outrage (*)
26. TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS - The Mirage
27. MY MIND - The Misunderstood
28. DISTURBANCE - The Move

(*) denotes previously unreleased track